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The proprietary parts of e-bikes are a real problem. I ride an Urban Arrow Family, and I love it, but I'm dreading the thought of trying to replace parts on it
by ryukafalz 4y ago
The proprietary parts of e-bikes are a real problem. I ride an Urban Arrow Family, and I love it, but I'm dreading the thought of trying to replace parts on it 5+ years from now. Nobody but Bosch can make batteries for it, along with several of the electronic components. If they won't sell me a replacement, what then? It's a far cry from older non-electric bicycles, which don't have nearly the compatibility issues as what we get nowadays.
- jacknews 4y ago"What then?" Like everything with integrated electronics, it's junk. I agree with the article that bikes are becoming increasingly proprietary, but they are still a marvel of interchangeability, even despite the myriad standards and models. A also agree that the problem, ultimately, is capitalism. Do we really need 10's of thousands of different bike models released every year? I'm not advocating a communist-style one-model system, but we've surely gone beyond the point of 'adequate choice'. The incentive is to get us to buy a new bike as often as possible, and while that drives some of the innovation, it also drives the instinct to make parts proprietary, and all kinds of other stuff that is wasteful, anti-consumer, etc.